Following a homestand where the Orioles went 4-2 against AL East opponents, the “Hell Month” of June continues with another inter-divisional match-up against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Last season, the Blue Jays were one step away from being the adopted son of the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s bested the Blue Birds 10 times in 13 meet-ups.
This season, we can hope for more of the same. Luckily for the O’s, the rotation kicks off at the top with Grayson Rodriguez (5-2 3.53 ERA) in game one, followed by Corbin Burnes (5-2 2.35 ERA) in game two and two to be determined starters in games three and four.
Game one’s match-up will be exciting for baseball fans, and even more so for Orioles fans. On the mound opposing Rodriguez will be former first-round pick for the O’s, Kevin Gausman. It will be a head-to-head showdown of the past vs. the present.
On the offensive side, the lineup will gain Orioles’ No. 6 overall prospect, infielder Connor Norby, who is replacing Jorge Mateo after he was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list.
In the pitching department, Nick Vespi is being recalled after Thyago Vieira was designated for assignment. This not only adds a fresh arm to the pen that needs it, but it also brings a left-handed arm back and one that deserves to be here.
Since the start of 2022, the Orioles have netted 40 home runs against the Blue Jays, with a collective .748 OPS. We’ll see if that hot offense continues in this four-game set.
BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR
The BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR in this series comes down to two players, Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman.
Both have been known to hit extremely well against the Blue Jays, Mountcastle especially. In his career, Mounty is slashing .322/.384/.600 with a .984 OPS and 15 home runs against the Jays. On top of that, Mountcastle’s bat has heated up recently, hitting .423 with two home runs in his last seven games.
Having these two bats carry the lineup, which has been hitting pretty well recently, will go a very long way. It’s as simple as that.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP
This four-game series kicks off with game one beginning on Monday evening at 7:07 p.m. EST. You can catch each game of this series on MASN2 or on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
How do you feel about this series? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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